A friend of mine tweets a lot. She tweets first thing in the morning, just before heading for work, as soon as she's back home, just before she goes to sleep, and at anytime in between that! And no, she just doesn't tweet to share about personal thoughts and activities...she uses Twitter for marketing her business.

What is Twitter? I do not know anyone who has never heard of Twitter, but assuming that you are one of those not-so-tech-savvy persons, Twitter is a tool for "micro-blogging", where you post very short updates, status, comments or thoughts. It's limited to 140 characters per tweet, making every single word of your tweet count.

Twitter, a micro-blogging tool, has become a powerful marketing instrument today. Almost every business uses Twitter for marketing, and why not? It has become an essential tool in building your network, establishing connections, engaging in worthy conversations and making friends. All of these things are essential in marketing and public relations, and if you're not yet sold on this micro-blogging phenomenon, now is the time to reconsider and use Twitter for marketing.

Here are five great ways that you can use Twitter for marketing:

1. Promote blog articles, webinars, interesting news and more. Share valuable information through your tweets. You not only promote your name and business - you get to share to thousands of people, who could retweet your information to their own followers!

2. Provide live updates. If you're attending a conference, seminar or trade show, you can use Twitter to announce last minute changes and events that are happening as it happens.

3. Announce specials, deals or sales. If you have some exciting promotional activities, Twitter is a nifty way of getting the message across to your target market. Keep in mind that Twitter should not be used as a pitch tool. This turns people off, so you don't want to be doing any aggressive marketing here because this should be a place for sharing information and knowledge.

4. Eavesdrop and get important feedback. You can also check what people are saying about any person, topic or company. Twitter has a search engine that lets you do just this. Or, you can use the hash tag #symbol.

5. Keep in touch with bloggers/media. Bloggers abound on Twitter. Follow those who motivate you, and find others who have valuable information to share too. Be friends, and take advantage of the power of the retweet button to spread great information!

If you look at Twitter from a personal brand building and networking standpoint, you will realize that you should NOT look at micro-blogging as individual posts, as you may think they can be useless. Instead, think of the general impressions and value that can be created by using Twitter for marketing over time.

Each tweet of 140 characters or less is a seed of an idea that can spark other new ideas, or it can result to a sale or the building up of your business reputation. Every word in a tweet counts, and every time someone retweets your message or post is publicity for you. You may not get a sale from Twitter, but using Twitter for marketing can help build your brand and put you in front of thousands of people.

Indeed, Twitter is a great promotional and marketing tool, and not just for pointing to interesting things you've found on the web. It's great for building credibility and influence, so use it, and use it well.